Junior
Tour Winner
Got back on Tuesday from a 4 night , 4 rounds of golf trip on the Costa Del Sol. We stayed at the Almenara Hotel , Golf and Spa resort on the Sotogrande estate. We originally had scheduled to have just 3 rounds, but given we got to the resort around 1pm Friday, we managed to get a tee time and headed out.
Almenara itself has 3 loops of 9 holes, each one slightly different to the other. One loop was around a big lake, the other had a more parkland feel and the other a more heathland. Each was a good test and whilst the fairways and tee boxes were a bit burnt in parts, the greens ran true and each loop had some drastic elevation changes which made for some interesting tee shots.
La Quinta was the 2nd course we played and whilst it was 30/40 min drive from Almenara , it was most certainly worth the trip. The course was pristine, and the greens were running uber slick, whilst the round was fairly slow, the organisation and numersous marshalls kept everthing moving (very politely) when it started to get a bit backed up. There was lots of water to contend with and the course was pretty fair off the tee. All the trouble was around the greens and a sharp short game was required.
The third course we played was the superb Real Golf De Sotogrande. A private members club on the Sotogrande estate. I had expected to enjoy La Quinta more, but when we arrived at Sotogrande, it soon became apparant that this was no ordinary members club. The course had hosted Spanish amateur championships and past winners inclueded Padraig , Garcia (twice), Molinari and Gary Woolstenholme. Pristine does not do this course justice. It looked like it had been manicured with scissors and the greens were nothing short of immaculate. The course was a great test, and again, whilst generous off the tee, anything way off line was severley punished and a missed green would easily result in a dropped shot. The clubhouse itself was a throwback to the 60's and the wealth of the people who had moved into that area. Some of the houses around the estate had sheds bigger than my gaff. My only critisism of the course was that the reception was a little frosty and whilst the members appeared welcoming, there was an undertone that let you knew that you were on their turf. Even so, it truly was one of the most asthetically pleasing courses, with rolling fairways, quite a bit of water coming into play and lots of elevation changes.
I'd recommend the Sotogrande estate as a place to visit. I perhaps would choose to play one of the closer courses than drive to La Quinta again, there are plenty to choose from in what truly is a golfers paradise (Valderamma, La reserva to name but a few).
Golfbreaks did let us down slightly in that they booked us to play the same loop of 9 twice due to a competition on Almenara and did not tell us. Luckily, I logged onto my booking through their website and picked p on this and changed the days we were playing. They also failed to tell us that the 17th hole was closed at Sotogrande, also, when we got to Sotogrande, they did not have our tee, time, but luckily, they could slot us in. I've used Golf breaks before and not had issues, but i'd think twice about using them again....
I'll post some pics up later !!
Almenara itself has 3 loops of 9 holes, each one slightly different to the other. One loop was around a big lake, the other had a more parkland feel and the other a more heathland. Each was a good test and whilst the fairways and tee boxes were a bit burnt in parts, the greens ran true and each loop had some drastic elevation changes which made for some interesting tee shots.
La Quinta was the 2nd course we played and whilst it was 30/40 min drive from Almenara , it was most certainly worth the trip. The course was pristine, and the greens were running uber slick, whilst the round was fairly slow, the organisation and numersous marshalls kept everthing moving (very politely) when it started to get a bit backed up. There was lots of water to contend with and the course was pretty fair off the tee. All the trouble was around the greens and a sharp short game was required.
The third course we played was the superb Real Golf De Sotogrande. A private members club on the Sotogrande estate. I had expected to enjoy La Quinta more, but when we arrived at Sotogrande, it soon became apparant that this was no ordinary members club. The course had hosted Spanish amateur championships and past winners inclueded Padraig , Garcia (twice), Molinari and Gary Woolstenholme. Pristine does not do this course justice. It looked like it had been manicured with scissors and the greens were nothing short of immaculate. The course was a great test, and again, whilst generous off the tee, anything way off line was severley punished and a missed green would easily result in a dropped shot. The clubhouse itself was a throwback to the 60's and the wealth of the people who had moved into that area. Some of the houses around the estate had sheds bigger than my gaff. My only critisism of the course was that the reception was a little frosty and whilst the members appeared welcoming, there was an undertone that let you knew that you were on their turf. Even so, it truly was one of the most asthetically pleasing courses, with rolling fairways, quite a bit of water coming into play and lots of elevation changes.
I'd recommend the Sotogrande estate as a place to visit. I perhaps would choose to play one of the closer courses than drive to La Quinta again, there are plenty to choose from in what truly is a golfers paradise (Valderamma, La reserva to name but a few).
Golfbreaks did let us down slightly in that they booked us to play the same loop of 9 twice due to a competition on Almenara and did not tell us. Luckily, I logged onto my booking through their website and picked p on this and changed the days we were playing. They also failed to tell us that the 17th hole was closed at Sotogrande, also, when we got to Sotogrande, they did not have our tee, time, but luckily, they could slot us in. I've used Golf breaks before and not had issues, but i'd think twice about using them again....
I'll post some pics up later !!
